CPR and AED Awareness Week

Having just renewed my certification, I was reminded of this classic scene from Dumb and Dumber when Harry and Lloyd attempt CPR on the hitman who’s been tracking them.

This foreign TV show probably made people afraid of doing CPR more than anything else.

These Australian guys finally get it right at the end of this clip.

The right way to do it is call 911, then push hard and fast on the center of the person’s chest– 100 beats per minute, which is approximately the tempo of the Beegees’ Stayin’ Alive. (I’ll admit that when I heard the tempo in CPR class I immediately thought of Another One Bites the Dust though. But we must think positive!)

Realistically you should assess the scene to see if it’s safe for you as well, shake the victim and shout “are you okay?” If there’s no response, tell someone nearby to call 911, get an AED (if there is one), and report back. It’s important to call 911 first so that the medics are on the way.

Then you can give 30 chest compressions followed by two breaths (tilt their head back so their airway is open). Keep that up– trade off with others if you have to– and hook the AED up to their bare chest when it arrives on scene. It will tell you if a shock is necessary or not.

I’m fortunate to live near the best place in the world to have a heart attack— many local residents are trained to do CPR, even on pets, and we have amazing emergency responders and hospitals. But higher survival rates like ours are possible in many other places as well if people would learn these simple steps that could save a life.

If, like me, you feel that it’s unsafe to put your mouth to a stranger’s mouth, carry a CPR mask on your keychain and in your vehicles. The Red Cross store carries various models.

Lastly, my CPR instructor brought this mildly sleazy Ken Jeong video to my attention as well as the last two. It shows how to do hands-only CPR.

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Who realized it was the same beat, I wonder? It actually throws me off, as I have no rhythm but I knew the speed for CPR. I think I’ll actually use this on the dance floor: move side to side to the speed of CPR compressions.